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Zero to Supercharged!
Introduction The return of hold heroes to their former glory! Thanks to Doctor Fulkherth's new machine, past heroes have now been supercharged! What could possibly go wrong? Originally posted in 2 parts in the forums: Parts 1 and 2 Parts 3 and 4 Part 1 Fading Memories Henry waited for the bus that would drag him from his pre-dawn despair to his post-dawn construction job in Gull Town with half a stale doughnut in hand and a cup of acidic coffee-ish swill resting on the bench beside him. A telephone pole rising from the grime-caked sidewalk opposite made poor company as the only other occupant in Bus Stop 196. Unruly weather had driven the other potential passengers away until fairer, later hours—leaving Henry to while his time reading the telephone pole's miserable ads and generally avoiding his own thoughts. Combined desperation from a thousand passengers slathered the pole's ancient, pocked wood in bright flyers above and beyond the normal trashed dreams stapled to similar poles all along Route 48. Henry skipped over the five dozen different ads offering heroic services—wondering how many of those self-proclaimed “heroes” would be able to find steady work in another year. A red flyer caught his attention long enough to uproot his sorry mood. Henry read the block-text headline twice, then dropped his crumbling doughnut in the trash and pulled the flyer from its tomb. Feeling Tired? (The flyer wanted to know.) Left behind by power creep? Are the younger heroes edging you out of work? We have a new treatment that will SUPERCHARGE YOUR POWER! Prove your HONOR and COURAGE in the face of modern villains STILL THWARTING our city! SHC NEEDS you, hero! It will ALWAYS NEED YOU. The flyer had a name and an address. Henry stared at it. Then he quietly tucked the flyer into his worn-out jacket pocket and left his bus ticket on the bench for someone else. Part 2 Desperate Times “F-Tech Conglomerate,” Henry told his friends that evening when they met in their favorite spot, a greasy spoon called the Cosmic Cafe. “The flyer says they can boost our power and put us back in the game.” “We're not out of the game,” X-fire said. “We’re just...retired. Right, Doctor M?” Doctor Mental looked up from his bowl of untouched Senior Special: tomato soup. “Huh? What was that?” “I for one ain’t retired.” Captain Victory said. He sniffed at his dollar Scotch. “I still gotta great job.” “Still?” Henry blinked. He then looked around at his stalwart companions, trying to give words to the arguments swirling in his head since that morning. X-fire idly poked a fry into a paper mustard cup. Captain Victory began thumbing through dessert options. “Do you remember what it was like before?” Henry prompted, feeling lost. “When the whole world needed help, and everywhere you turned someone shouted out, 'Hey, X-fire!' or 'Victory!' or ‘Henry the Hammer! Oh, please help Henry the Hammer, I need you to lift this jet plane off my dad.’” “Did somebody say ‘FIRE?!’” “No Doctor M,” they all said at once. “Finish your soup,” Henry urged. “Nobody ever asked you to do that,” Captain Victory said. “Well, that's not the point, Carl.” Henry massaged his brow. “Look, X-fire’s right--” “I'm right,” X-fire agreed. “--we’re retired--” “That's right,” she cooed back. “--BUT we were forced into retirement.” “I like retirement. We play cards.” Doctor Mental smiled. “Look I don’t know what the big deal is. I get a raise every 2 years and the Sub Club offers dental.” Captain Victory said. “YOU FLIP SANDWICH-SHAPED SIGNS, CARL!” Henry snatched the dessert menu away from him and banged the table with it. Captain Victory and X-fire jumped. Even they forgot how strong Henry really was. “Aren’t you guys tired of this? Don’t you want to get back in the game? Don’t you miss fighting bad guys?” “--Criminals. Bad guys sounds silly,” X-Fire added her two-cents. “--Villains.” Henry rapped the flyer with his knuckles. “And to do that we need an edge above the other heroes.” X-fire tore her gaze from their paltry dinner, scratching her cheek. Captain Victory slouched in his chair. He seemed to be turning Henry's words over in his mind. Doctor Mental asked if the Senior Shuttle arrived. “It’ll be expensive,” X-Fire pointed out. “Carl said he got a raise,” Henry smirked. “I’ve been saving up some money on the side. And I’m sure we could convince Doctor Mental to let us borrow money from the deal he made with Shadow Knight.” There was a long, pregnant silence. “We could be famous again,” Captain Victory reminisced. “It's not about fame, Carl,” X-fire preached. “It's about helping people.” to be continued.... Part 3 The Point of no Return... Standing outside the headquarters of the F-Tech Conglomerate, the retired heroes paused. Henry the Hammer held the crumpled flyer in his hand. It had led them here, but… The F-Tech building wasn’t what any of them expected. Ultra-modern and soulless. Nothing like the simple two story brownstones of the past. Henry stuffed the flyer away. His decision was made. It was time to live for the future once more. He heard an unladylike curse from X-Fire. Captain Victory looked like he’d prefer to be anywhere else. Doctor Mental just looked as lost as usual. “You sure about this Hammer?” “Look at us X-Fire… Daunted by a building. This is what we are now. What have we got to lose?” Henry pushed through the door before anyone could answer. “Hello hello hello! And welcome! My name is Trixie and you must be Henry the Hammer? Party of Four?” Henry was caught off guard by the distractingly dressed domino masked wearing nurse. “Yes. I… we…” “Of course you are! We’ve been looking forward to your arrival. Come right this way!” With a slight bounce to her step, the Nurse lead them down the hallway. X-Fire whispered in a distinctly unamused manner. “This is F-Tech Conglomerate?!” Her voice picked up volume “Henry! Do you have any idea who this is? Who the doctor must be?!” Henry swallowed hard. Had he lead his friends into a trap? Into danger? Nearby, Captain Victory steadied himself uncertainly. X-Fire cringed warily. Whatever would happen, would happen, Henry thought. Being a hero, a superhero; risks were just part of the job. Right? … Bright lights. They were blinding and at the same time strangely beautiful. Henry shook his head. Forces beyond his comprehension whirled around him. Doctor Fulkerth knocked on the glass of the device. “Stay with me big boy! We’re not half done yet!” What had Fulkerth called it? The Supercharger? The energies poured into them. X-Fire, Captain Victory. Doctor Mental. He saw them all through the reflections and the powerful forces gained speed. The room was spinning. It seemed like they had entered the lab days ago. Months even. Trixie lead them to Doctor Fulkerth, Fulkerth tested them. Probed them with needles. They signed documents. Paid fees. It was a long and tedious process. The lights flashed again. Fulkerth jumped up and down, laughing and throwing a switch. He seemed strange. Giddy. Weird. But everything seemed strange. And then everything went black. Part 4: The Conclusion Power Surge Captain Victory stepped out of the shadows. A man preparing to commit an unspeakable crime turned towards the sound. The Captain smiled, cracking his knuckles loudly as he approached the terrified criminal. “This is Belinda on ‘Talking with Bee.’ As most of our viewers already know, some of our cities most distinguished and long retired heroes have been reported active…” X-Fire laughed. Flying; she was flying again. Hundreds of feet below her, an airship full of time travelling Nazi Cavemen floated through the clouds. It was well hidden… …from the ground. “…many specialists have weighed in on the topic of the newly returned heroes. The words ‘miraculous’ and ‘amazing’ have been attributed to their startling recovery…” Doctor Mental sat in an empty room. At the docks a gang of high tech criminals were preparing to assault a security team tasked with guarding an alien artifact. The Doctor flexed his frontal lobe… and the gang members fell asleep. It was good to be back. “But so to have the words ‘unnatural’ and ‘suspicious’. So, to help put the skeptics to rest we’ve brought on a special guest…” Henry the Hammer felt nervous. He had fought the worst there was in this world without flinching. But this? He wished he hadn’t drawn the short straw. He should be out there fighting. He swallowed his nervousness. The camera was on. “Thanks Belinda. My friends are a bit busy… hard not to jump into the action after so long on the sidelines…” “And that’s what our viewers would love to hear about. Why now? What brought you all back?” Henry sighed. “Listen, I know some people are curious. But all we want is a chance to help again. We’re back thanks to the miracles of modern medicine and our unflinching dedication to justice. That’s all.” “So, nothing to worry about?” The newly repowered hero smiled into the camera. “No Belinda…” “…Nothing at all.” Category:Storyline